The Wright City boys basketball team was given the No. 7 seed in next week’s Clopton Tournament, and the Wildcats face No. 2 Monroe City in the first round Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

Wright City is looking for its second win of the season, and Head Coach Ken Brown has higher expectations for the second semester.

“I don’t think it went as well as I want to be, and a lot of that is on me,” Brown said of the first semester. “We have a lot of great individual talent, but we don’t play well as a team and we need to do better at that.”

The Wildcats are led by guards Devon Holmes, Trey Saddler and Tyrel Curtis, who contribute most of the scoring from the perimeter.

In the paint, junior Dakota Phillips and sophomore Kyle Christopher fill out the lineup.

“Dakota has played good at times, and we need him to continue to come along,” Brown said. “Our big guys are young and developing, so it’s going to take a team effort to beat them.”

Barat Academy, which defeated Wright City 75-50 Nov. 23, was given the No. 1 seed and faces No. 8 Silex Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

If Wright City wins Tuesday’s game, it will face the winner of the No. 3 Louisiana No. 6 Winfield matchup.

Brown said he doesn’t have any specific goals for the tournament, but hopes his players continue to get better every game.

He liked what he saw for most of his team’s 60-56 win over Missouri Military Academy Dec. 10, but said the players have struggled to play together most of the season.

“We had a good practice Monday and we need to keep having good practices going forward,” he said.

Monroe City is led by a core of seniors, which stood out to Brown during his tournament prep.

“We’re a really young team,” he said. “But we play hard. We don’t always play smart, but we always play hard.”

Wright City defeated Monroe City last year, and Brown is familiar with how he thinks the Panthers will attack.

“They’re a good team for a reason,” he said. “They’re mostly all seniors, which we lack. I just want to get on the floor and see what we can do.”

The Wildcats will play Thursday night regardless of Tuesday’s outcome, but will need at least one win to be granted a third game in the tournament,

“I don’t have any set expectations for the tournament, I just want to get better every single game, and I think we can do that,” Brown said. “We need to make better decisions and share the basketball.”

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Tuesday, Jan. 5

Game 1 — No. 1 seed Barat Academy vs. No. 8 Silex, 5:30 p.m., New Gym

Game 2 —  No. 4 Clopton vs. No. 5 Wellsville, 7 p.m., New Gym

Game 3 — No. 2 Monroe City vs. No. 7 Wright City, 5:30 p.m., Old  Gym

Game 4 — No. 3 Louisiana vs. No. 6 Winfield, 7 p.m., Old Gym

Thursday, Jan. 7

Game 5 — Barat Academy/Silex winner vs. Clopton/Wellsville winner, 5:30 p.m., New Gym

Game 6 — Barat Academy/Silex loser vs. Clopton/Wellsville loser, 5:30 p.m., Old Gym

Game 7 — Monroe City/Wright City winner vs. Louisiana/Winfield winner, 7 p.m., New Gym

Game 8 — Monroe City/Wright City loser vs. Louisiana/Winfield loser, 7 p.m., Old Gym

 Saturday. Jan. 9

Consolation Championship — 4 p.m., New Gym

Third-Place Game — 5:30 p.m., New Gym

Championship — 7 p.m. New Gym

LAY IT IN — Wright City's Trey Saddler finishes a fastbreak with a layup earlier this season. Saddler leads the Wildcats into the Clopton Tournament next week. Kory Carpenter photo.